That's Not Supposed to Happen
by kelsiek
Summary: Troy has close to the perfect life and family, but one day will devastate him and change his family forever. [TxG]
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Troy Bolton parked his black truck outside the Montez residence. Just as he was reaching for the handle to open his door, his cell phone on the passenger seat began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Troy, mom and dad want to know what time you're going to be home tonight," said his little sister on the phone.

"Ummm, I don't know Cas, one?"

Cassie pulled the phone down to her shoulder. There was a moment of silence before she spoke back into the receiver. "Okay, mom said fine, but only because you're a senior and she loves you."

"Thanks Cas, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Troy"

Troy smiled to himself. It was true he was a senior and tonight he was picking up Gabriella to go to Zeke's end of the year party celebrating the end of high school. Though graduation was still a week a way and this definitely wasn't the last party of the school year, but with the last minute cramming of finals still to come, everyone was ready to relax.

As Troy knocked on Gabriella's door he let out a deep breath and straightened himself up before she opened the door. His dark blue polo accented his blue fading jeans perfectly. He was casual, but still looked as if he took a few extra minutes getting ready tonight.

"Come in!" A voice said faintly from the other side. Troy did as it said and turned the front door open. As he walked in and looked up he smiled when Gabriella walked down the stairs still struggling to put an earring in.

"Hey you," she said greeting him with a light kiss. "I'm almost ready, I just need to grab my purse."

Troy smiled. In the two years that the couple had been dating, Gabriella was never completely ready; there were always one or two things that she still needed to do. He didn't mind at all though, it added to the sweetness he loved so much about her.

"Alright, now I'm ready."

"You, my dear, look beautiful," Troy said kissing her cheek. She had also spent extra time getting ready this evening. She had on a new white top that she bought with Taylor earlier that day, a jean mini skirt and to dress it up just a little bit more, she wore a pair of espadrilles that Sharpay had bought her last year for her birthday. Before leaving she left a note for her mom, saying she'd be home before one.

As the couple drove to Zeke's house they talked about the movie they were going to see the next night, how soon graduation is coming up, and how excited they were about the party. They parked a few houses down, due to the massive amounts that were already in front of Zeke's house. Troy got out first, as usual, and walked around to let Gabriella out. She reached for his hand and intertwined her fingers with his. She smiled at the fact that still, after two years, her heart jumped and her stomach filled with butterflies as she came in contact with Troy.

When they got closer to the house they could hear the loud music seeping through the walls. On the front door there was a sign saying: COME IN. Troy turned the door knob and the two were immediately greeted by everybody.

Taylor managed her way though the crowd of people followed by Chad to greet the newly arrived guests.

"Gabi!" Taylor screamed making her way towards her.

"Taylor!" Gabi said in return.

The two excited girls hugged and talked as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks, when in reality it had only been three hours.

"Hey man," Chad motioned towards Troy.

"What's up Chad?" replied Troy.

"So how's the party so far?" asked Gabriella.

"Awesome. Do you guys want something to drink?" Taylor asked. "FYI, someone spiked the drinks so don't drink too much or don't drink at all." Gabriella put on a sly smile and looked at Taylor. The two girls walked over towards the living room and got a little something to drink. Troy and Chad decided not to, just incase, so instead they went to find Zeke.

The party was loud, crazy, and so much fun the whole time, there was never a dull moment. Troy and Gabriella danced and even snuck in a kiss here and there. The mood was alive and so was everyone else.

Towards the end of the night, while Chad and Troy were sitting a couch talking, Taylor and Gabriella came over and sat on their laps completely worn out.

"How are you baby?" Troy asked kissing her cheek.

"A little buzzed, but I'll be fine," she said leaning on his chest.

"Well," Chad interrupted, "we need to get going." He said looking at Taylor. Taylor looked back at him and stuck out her bottom lip.

"Do we have to?" She whined.

"Mhmm," Chad nodded. "We do, besides the party is dying down anyways."

"Can you carry me?" Taylor asked half asleep.

"Of course."

Taylor and Gabi said their goodbyes half heartily, seeing as that they were both almost passed out. Chad and Troy did the same, saying they'd see each other tomorrow. Chad then, as promised, swept Taylor into his arms and headed towards his car.

"Gabi, we should get going too, its almost 12:30." Troy said stroking her hair.

"Yeah……" She agreed. "Let's go say goodbye to Zeke first." Gabriella reached for Troy's hand and pulled him off the couch. Searching room to room, they were about to give up with they found him cleaning up garbage in the kitchen.

"Hey, you guys heading out?" He asked tying off a garbage bag.

"Yeah," Troy answered. "Do you want us to stay and help clean up?"

"Nah, Sharpay had to run Ryan home, but she'll be back to help later. Thanks anyway though. Did you guys have a good time?"

"Yeah it was great," Gabriella said going over to give Zeke a hug goodbye. "Thank you."

"See you around man." Troy waved goodbye and reached for Gabriella's hand. She leaned into Troy to help stabilize her tired body against his. As they got into the car Gabriella leaned over onto the window and drifted in and out of sleep. When Troy stopped in front of her house, he could hear her slow and steady breathing. He quietly got out and went to carry her into the house. While shifting her weight from the window to him was easy, he found it difficult to wake up something so beautiful from its sleep. Her arms willingly wrapped around his neck as she nestled into his chest.

"Gabi," he whispered.

"Hmmm?"

"Where's your house key?"

"Under the mail box hatch." Sure enough Troy looked under the hatch next to the door and found the spare key he was looking for. He slowly opened the door and found Mrs. Montez in the living room asleep with a book on her chest. She woke up with the opening of the door.

"Hi Troy," she said softly.

"Hey, I'm just going to take her upstairs, she fell asleep in the car." Troy whispered.

Mrs. Montez smiled and nodded and walked into the kitchen to get the light. Troy walked up the stairs into Gabriella's room and laid her on her bed. She settled in and let out a sigh. He slowly turned around and walked towards the door.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?" he whispered. He walked quietly back over to her side and held her hand. With her eyes still closed she rolled her head in Troy's direction.

"I love you."

"I love you too," replied Troy. He smile and bent down to kiss her goodnight.

'This was how things were supposed to be' Troy thought to himself.

Reviews make me happy. They also make me want to update, how ironic…….


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Troy, wake up," Mrs. Bolton whispered shaking her son from side to side trying to get him to come out of his very deep slumber. "Troy," she said a little sterner. He mumbled something incoherent and rolled over. "Troy, wake up!" She yelled.

"Fine, I'm getting up," he answered groggily.

"Thank you. Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."

Mondays, Troy hated Mondays; they always seemed the hardest days to wake up.

"Hey Troy," Cassie, his 15-year-old sister chanted coming into his room. She was already awake and dressed.

"Why aren't you at the rink?" he asked thinking it was weird that she was at home. Cassie was a very competitive figure skater and spent 2 ½ hours in the morning at the rink 6 days a week, then another 3 after school. Troy had to admit though, Cassie was amazing, and she was a little spit fire on the ice. Everybody in their family and at school was very supportive.

"Mom called my coaches because I had a really bad headache and I have an English paper to make-up. I missed it because of the competition in California last week." Troy nodded his head in understanding. "Can ride to school with you?" The two both went to East High together, she was a freshman, but had a very customized schedule to fit her skating that a senior couldn't get if they were a triple A+ student.

"Yeah, no problem."

A little while later Troy walked down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. He reached into the fridge and got some orange juice, poured some in a glass and gulped it down. His face then became bitter.

"Just brush your teeth?" Mrs. Bolton asked. Troy nodded and reached for a piece of toast.

"Cassie! Come on let's go!" he yelled up the stairs.

"Coming!" Cassie replied jogging down the stairs with her purse and books.

"Cas, sweetheart, I'll pick you up at 1:30 like usual. You are not missing your afternoon practice as well." Mrs. Bolton said as they walked out the door. "I love you guys, have a good day!"

"Bye mom," the two said in unison.

Troy parked in the East High parking lot.

"This is weird coming to school this early." Cassie thought out loud.

Troy laughed to himself, "When is the last time you went to school like a normal person, the start of the day all the way to the end?"

Cassie thought about it as they walked towards the front steps of the school. "I think, like, 4th grade."

"Cassie, I would give anything to come to school at 9:30 and go home at 1:30. And you're a freshman," Troy replied.

"Yeah, but I don't just sit around and do nothing. It's tiring. Sometimes I kinda just want to be normal. Like go to school like everyone else, have a normal social life, and eat pizza."

"Cas, you're not normal, and that's what makes you special." Troy replied.

"Awww, you are so cute when you're corny," Cassie teased. "But, thanks."

"Hey, what are big brothers for?"

"I don't know……you are kinda useless." Cassie laughed. Troy reached after her, but she ran the other way to her English class, not to fast however, to turn around and stick her tongue out at Troy. Gabriella came up from behind as Troy mimicked Cassie's facial expression.

"What's Cassie doing here so early?" she asked curiously.

"She has make-up work to do." Troy kissed her hello and reached for her hand.

"Our last Monday at East High, how weird." Gabriella sighed as they walked down the hall.

"I know, but tomorrow is our last day, and then we are graduating, and then," Troy stopped and turned towards Gabriella. "Then we have summer vacation and we all get to go to Mexico for a week."

Gabriella smiled. "And we can sleep in and relax."

"There you go," Troy encouraged her. The bell rang for first period. They kissed each other goodbye and went their separate ways. Everybody had finals today, so East High did not feel like its usual 'peppy' self.

Jason, Kelsi and Chad all had Government together first period.

"So we have a democracy?" Chad asked.

Kelsi and Jason stared blankly at him. "Yeah"

"Did you study at all dude?" Jason asked.

"Course, I fell asleep on my books," Chad smiled pointed to his head. "Osmosis."

Kelsi laughed, but Jason quickly stopped her. "Sorry, that wasn't funny."

"Chad, my man, you're screwed." Jason admitted.

Across campus Gabriella and Taylor were in AP Physics and were very calm considering the upcoming difficulty of their test.

Zeke, Sharpay and Troy didn't share Taylor and Gabriella's feelings. They were worried about their final English essay they were about to begin writing.

"I can feel my hand cramping up already," Sharpay said staring blankly.

"Me too," Zeke agreed in the same state.

"Come on guys it can't be that bad," Troy begged. "Right?"

Sharpay turned around and looked at Troy. "Yeah, Troy, I'm sure that a three page paper in Lord of the Flies isn't going to be 'that bad'."

"Shit," Troy said putting his head down on his desk.

Cassie walked up to her English teacher Mrs. Tucker.

"Hi Cassie, what are you doing here so early?"

"Um, I was wondering if I could make-up that in class heroism essay." Cassie asked.

"Sure, but you're going to need to take it to the library, because I have a meeting I need to get to." Mrs. Tucker said handing her the prompt paper. Cassie took it, and did as she was told. While sitting down at one of the study hall tables, she read the headline: _My hero is…………because…………_

Cassie smiled and then began writing.

At lunch everyone looked fried.

"Is it possible to flunk something so bad that they flunk you out of life too?" Chad asked dazed.

"Depends on if you did as bad as me," Zeke agreed.

"Oh, guys it couldn't have been that bad," said Taylor.

"Yeah, you're your own worse critic." Gabriella added. Everyone else at the table turned and just stared at the two.

"They were really that bad?" The two asked shocked. The group nodded. The rest of the day's finals weren't as bad as the first half of the days, but they were still finals. After school Gabriella and Troy said goodbye to each other, each going their separate ways to work. Troy was a host at a local restaurant, while Gabriella was a receptionist for her mom's company. Later that night, however, the two were meeting Zeke and Sharpay for dinner.

Around 7:30 Troy got off work and picked up Gabriella on the way to the restaurant they were going to.

"Hey baby," Troy said as Gabriella got into the car.

"Hey." Gabriella replied kissing him. Troy deepened the kiss and put his hand on Gabriella's lower back, pushing her closer towards him. Gabriella smiled and put her arms around Troy's neck, still lost in the kiss.

Gasping for air, she pulled away a few minutes later.

"I love you so much," Troy smiled and stared into Gabriella's eyes.

Seeing his sincerity, she looked at him back, and replied, "I love you too."

The car escapades continued for a while until Sharpay called Gabriella asking where they were. The two sealed the passion off with one final kiss and headed down to the restaurant sheepishly. They were forty-five minutes late, but little things like that were supposed to happen in life.

Yay! I am so glad that you guys like my story. And believe you me, it is going to get better, and I mean way better. This is just filler stuff………..ha ha.

Reviews are like 'the morning after' pizza, it just tastes good, even cold.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The rest of the week flew by now that graduation was right around the corner. Taylor and Gabi had just gotten done with some last minute vacation shopping when Sharpay called.

"Hey Gabi."

"Hey Sharpay, what's up?"

"Are you with Taylor?"

"Yeah."

"Can you guys come over tonight? It's just going to be a few people."

"That should be fine, what time?"

"Ninish…."

"Great, do we need to bring anything?"

"Well, it's kind of an 'end of the year' get together for my close friends. You guys, Zeke, Kelsi, Troy, Chad and Jason. It's just so we can talk and have some quiet time."

"Wow, Shar, that sounds really great, we'll be there."

"Okay, see you later."

Gabriella filled Taylor in and the two went home to change. Something felt different about tonight, it was peaceful, which was weird for being the day before graduation.

It seemed as everyone had driven themselves to the Evans household with all the cars that were parked outside. Gabriella added hers to the mix and walked up to the front door, Ryan answered.

"Gabi!" he said giving her a hug.

"Hey Ryan." Everyone was there, well all nine of them at least. It just seemed so intimate. Gabriella walked over to Troy; he put his hand around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"Well, since we're all here," Sharpay announced. "Why don't we all move up into the lounge? It's more comfortable."

Everyone followed the hostess, not knowing what the evening was going to entail. So it was no shock that everyone's jaws dropped as they turned the corner into the lounge. The room was filled with different pictures of them throughout the years, all of them different sizes, some big, some small. It seemed as if every memory, even some they had forgotten, from the past two years was placed in front of them to remember again. There were pictures from prom, group shots from school and community events, personal pictures, the memories endless.

Troy shook his head in disbelief. "Sharpay, how in the world did you get all of these pictures?"

She gave him a devilish smile. "Well," she began. "I started collecting them in October. You guys all looked at me weird when I asked for copies of random pictures and always wanted doubles. This was why."

Jason nodded, remembering the time Sharpay asked for a picture of himself reading a poem in English class junior year. "Crazy." Was all he could say.

For the next three hours the group laughed as thy remembered how Taylor carried around that stupid backpack on wheels. "I know I was suck a nerd…kill me."

Some shed a tear when they remembered how Zeke almost had to move away to his dad's house is Washington. "I'm so glad that I stayed."

But everyone smiled when Chad took down a picture of them all at closing night of Twinkle Town. Everyone had come that night to see Gabriella and Troy. Without the musical and the drama at auditions, none of them would be sitting here tonight; it was the thing that brought them all together.

"Wow," said Gabriella. "It seems like so long ago."

"I know, we have all done so much together since then." Taylor added.

"You two," Sharpay said looking at Troy and Gabriella, "did so well that night. Ryan and I could not have put on half the show you did." Gabriella smiled with tears in her eyes and went over to give Sharpay a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered. She pulled away and laughed, because both she and Sharpay had tears in their eyes now.

"Well, I hate to say it," Troy interrupted. "But I need to start heading home."

"Yeah, it's getting late." Kelsi agreed. They all said their goodbyes, and once again thanked Sharpay for the wonderful memories she brought back.

Troy quietly shut the back door as he came in to the house. At that same time Mr. Bolton came down the stairs to see his son returning.

"Hey Troy."

"Hey Dad. What are you doing up?"

"I got thirsty," he replied walking over to the refrigerator. "How was it tonight?"

"Great," Troy said remembering all the things that they talked about.

"Hey come over here for a second," Mr. Bolton said walking towards the kitchen counter. "I want you to see something." Troy followed his dad and leaned on his forearms against the counter. "I ran into Mrs. Tucker today." He said picking up a piece of paper.

"My freshman English teacher?" Troy asked wondering how this related to him.

"Well, she was Cassie's English teacher this year. She thought that you might want to see this." he replied handing him the piece of paper. Troy looked at it and then looked back up at Mr. Bolton. His dad smiled, and Troy began to read.

_My Hero, by Cassie Bolton_

_He defies gravity, everybody wants to be him, he is an awesome mentor and he even got the girl at the end. You may think that I am describing Superman, and I was, but this is my Superman, my brother, Troy Bolton. Not everyone is as lucky as me to have such and awesome brother like Troy, which is sad, because he is always there when you need help. Other times he is just there because he loves you and he can be; that's a hard quality to find these days. And even though he is a complete jock sometimes and can't stop thinking about basketball, he always has time for you. Everyone at school looks up to Troy, everyone is so proud of him, and who wouldn't be, he's Superman. I smile every time he comes home and tells me that one of his friends little brothers asked for his autograph, the leader of the Wildcats. And it doesn't go to his head at all; he is always shocked that someone would actually want his autograph. To himself he's just a normal person, but to me he's not. My hero, Troy Bolton, is a leader, a friend, and my brother._

Troy smiled. "Wow," was all he could say.

"I'm proud of you son." Mr. Bolton said patting him on the back. He then headed up to bed, leaving Troy who was still staring at the paper.

'Family was supposed to be like this' Troy thought to himself as he turned out the downstairs lights and went to bed.

**Sorry it took me so long to update, but I have been really busy. I know nothing really good happened in this chapter and it was kind of short, but I promise that the next chapter…..Oh the next chapter you will thank me, that is when the juice starts.**

**Reviews are like rainbows they look pretty, but always, in the end, they just make a person smile.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Troy awoke late the next morning to hear Cassie coming home from skating. He slowly rolled out of bed, putting on a pair of sweatpants and toping them off with a Wildcat sweatshirt. As he walked downstairs he could hear his mom lecturing to Cassie about her performance at today's practice.

"I'm just saying that with the extra two hours you got to sleep in this morning you were really slacking off." She scolded.

"I'm sorry; I promise I will do better this afternoon."

"You're darn right you will," Mrs. Bolton shot back. "Less than a week before a major competition and you pull a stunt like this." She finished shaking her head.

'Boy and I thought dad was hard on me.' Troy thought to himself as he listened from the stairs.

"Mom, I said I was sorry. I was just a little winded this morning and the only jumps that were really bad were my triple-double combos." Cassie reasoned with her mother.

"That's not what Nick and Jill thought," she said referring to her coaches. Mrs. Bolton stopped preparing lunch and turned towards Cassie. "You have to place well in Philadelphia next week or the National Board isn't going to consider you for the Junior World Team after Nationals. End of story."

Cassie looked down in defeat and rubbed her forehead. "Mom, can I just go lie down, I have another headache."

"Yes, but only for an hour, then you have a training session with James at the gym." Mrs. Bolton said going back to what she was doing.

Troy finished walking down the stairs as Cassie turned the corner to go up. "Morning." Troy smiled.

"Did mom's lecturing wake you up?" Cassie asked leaning on the banister.

"Nah." He said as he stretched. "Hey you okay?"

"Fine," she replied wearily. "I'm just going to go lie down before I have to go to the gym."

"Hey, do you mind if I take you? I need to work out anyways."

"Ask mom," Cassie said walking up the stairs. "Oh and Troy," she said turning towards him. "Happy Graduation, it's the big day." She said cheesily.

Troy nodded his head and did a celebration dance. They laughed and Troy walked into the kitchen to get lunch, since he obviously had missed breakfast.

* * *

Troy took Cassie to the gym later that day and spent the rest of the day lounging around. 

Around four he began to get ready for the ceremony. After he was ready he made his way down stairs so his mother could begin her picture taking escapades. However, after a half an hour of straight photos, Troy began to get restless.

"Mom, come on," he said irritated. "You are going to run out of space and not have any room left on that camera for the actual ceremony if you keep taking pictures."

"Oh hush Troy." She replied. "Cassie, get in there with your brother." Cassie obliged her mother and stood beside Troy.

"You know she's going to be ten times worse when you graduate, you're the baby." He said though his smile.

"Shut-up," Cassie said through hers.

* * *

Later that night, after the ceremony had ended, everyone made their way to the Evans's household to celebrate the beginning of freedom. It was a crazy party; you couldn't walk one foot without running into someone. There was loud music, catered food, people, without swimsuits, were jumping into the pool. And though some of the guests may have been on drugs, everyone was high with the fact that they didn't have to go back to high school ever again. 

"A toast," Gabriella said raising her drink. "to the end of the burden formally known as high school!"

"And to Mexico, where such a word doesn't exist," added Kelsi.

"Here, Here!" the people around them said tapping their glasses in a center circle.

"What time are we meeting at the airport?" Sharpay asked.

"Well, our flight leaves at four, so I would say around two." Jason answered.

"Guys, do you realize how much fun we're going to have?" Taylor asked as a very broad smile graced her face. The other girls mimicked her smile and jumped around and screamed, the boys hollered in agreement; all of them realizing that Mexico had seem nothing yet.

* * *

The next day Troy zipped up his suitcase packed with everything he needed to party a week in Mexico. He walked it downstairs and put it in the back of his dad's car, who was dropping him off at the airport. He then went back inside to say goodbye to Cassie and his mom. 

"So when do you guys leave for Philadelphia?" he asked after hugging Cassie.

"Tomorrow morning," she replied, "I have practice ice all week."

"Fun." Troy said sarcastically.

"Cassie," Mrs. Bolton said from upstairs. "Are you ready to go shopping?" Cassie heaved a sigh.

"No, one sec mom. Troy, I'll be right back, don't leave yet."

Mrs. Bolton came downstairs, walked over to Troy, placed her hands on his shoulders, and looked him in the eyes; though he looked blurry with all the tears building up in hers.

"Look at you," Troy smiled at her comment. "All grown up, out of high school and soon you'll be off to college." She took a deep breath to stop herself from completely loosing it. "Now, don't do anything stupid in Mexico and be safe. Call me whenever, even tough we'll be with Cassie. Don't go too far from the hotel, it's dangerous. And I know you can drink down there, but don't drink too much, be smart. And…"

"Mom," Troy said giving her a reassuring look. "I'll be fine." She nodded trusting him.

"Ready mom?" Cassie said coming into the living room.

Mrs. Bolton gave Troy a hug and went to go and fetch her purse, but not before giving Troy the 'remember what I told you look.'

Cassie gave Troy one final hug. "Bye Troy."

"Hey, good luck in Philly next week. You, are going to be amazing." He said walking towards the door. He then got into the car and drove off with his dad to the airport.

* * *

The plane ride wasn't very long; Gabriella slept on Troy's lap most of the time due to all of the last minute packing she had to do earlier that morning. 

"Gabi," Troy whispered as they finished landing. "Gabi, we're here." She turned her head to look up at Troy and smiled.

"Gabi, wake up!" Taylor said peeking over the seats with excitement. "We're in Mexico!"

As Jason got up to get his overhead luggage he began to do a very unconventional dance and sang: 'We are in Mex-ico, we are in Mex-ico" over and over again.

* * *

The nine friends took the shuttle over to the hotel and separated into the rooms. Though the boys had a separate room from the girls, the suites were connected by a door so they wouldn't be far from each other. The view from the balcony was amazing. Below was the hotel's tropic pool area with large pools filled with crystal clear water. But just beyond that was beach, so close that there was a gate at one end of the pool area that you just had to open before hitting the sand. It was sunny with perfect blue skies with the green accents from the tops of the palm trees trying to reach the sun. 

All week they did anything they wanted. Sunday they relaxed at the beach and lounged around their hotel rooms. Wednesday the girls went to the hotel spa and indulged themselves with pampering, while the boys went and rode quads at the dunes. Thursday, they rode the banana boats and late that same night went to a club down the street.

Friday, they all didn't wake up till late afternoon due to the extent of the former nights partying. Instead of going to the beach, they all decided to get dressed and go for an early dinner at the hotel restaurant.

"So what are we going to do tomorrow?" Sharpay asked excitedly.

"Let's go horseback riding," Ryan suggested.

"Yeah," Kelsi agreed, I saw some people riding on the beach the other day, it looked so fun."

Everyone agreed as their meals began to arrive. Then, as Troy began to whisper plans he had for the two later that night in Gabriella's ear, his phone began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Troy," it was his dad. "There's been an accident."

"What!" he asked shocked. "Who is it?"

"It's Cassie." Troy was at a loss of words after that. Everyone at the table looked at him wondering what was going on. All he could think was 'That's not supposed to happen.'

* * *

**Alright, now do you understand why it took so long, I needed to build it up…chill my peeps, chill.And do you see the pattern at the end of every chapter…huh? Huh? And on top of that my first cliffhanger...EVER! Anyways, reviews are like getting mail, they make you feel all warm and fuzzy and smile.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Troy sat in the Mexico Airport waiting to catch his plane to Arizona, to then board another to Philadelphia. He put his head in his hands trying desperately to escape reality. Gabriella, who insisted that he didn't go alone, sat next to him with a hand on his leg, just to let him know that she was there for him. Troy hadn't said anything since they had left the hotel a few hours ago.

After the phone conversation with this dad he just looked at his plate and said "Cassie is in a coma." He then jumped up and rushed to start packing. Gabriella had ran after him, trying to get some more details out of him, however, like Gabriella, that was all he knew, she was in a coma. Knowing that Troy was so upset, she decided that it was best that she go with him and just be there. She knew how close Cassie and Troy were, and how much she meant to him.

* * *

The plane ride was also silent; Troy only looked out the window holding Gabriella's hand the whole time. He didn't listen to music, read a book, or anything but be utterly silent. He didn't know what else to do really, he was completely numb. He didn't show emotion, but you could see when you looked into his eyes that he was devastated. He was so numb that he couldn't give in and cry, because he was so overwhelmed and didn't know how to react. Troy still didn't even know what had happened to put her in the coma. Mr. Bolton said that there was an accident with Cassie and that he should get up there as soon as possible. Troy asked for more details, but his only reply was that she was in a coma, and again, to get up to Philadelphia quickly.

* * *

Gabriella and Troy took a taxi to the hospital Cassie was at. Hand in hand they walked up to the information desk.

"May I help you?" A bright faced lady asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for my sister, Cassandra Bolton; what room is she in?" Troy asked anxiously.

"One moment." She typed something into her computer and then looked back up at Troy and Gabriella. "She is in room 329."

"What floor is that?" Troy asked.

"Oh, ICU is the second floor."

"ICU?" Gabriella asked shocked. "As in Intensive Care Unit?" She looked over at Troy and saw him looking down at the ground, still not trying to come to terms with his sister's injury. He didn't need to hear something like that.

"Thank you." Troy said as they turned towards the elevator hallway.

When they got to the ICU level they quickly found room 329. Troy stood on one side of the door, but couldn't see in yet, Gabriella stood beside him.

He took a deep breath and look down at Gabriella. "I'm not ready for this." Gabriella turned him so they were facing each other.

"Troy, I know that this is really hard for you." She said soothingly. "But I am here for you and I love you, no matter what."

Troy nodded in agreement and took in another breath before going into the room.

* * *

Cassie was lying on a hospital bed and was hooked up to a breathing machine. In the background you could hear the faint beeping of her heart monitor and other computers surrounding her; her head had a bandage wrapped around her forehead.

Mrs. Bolton sat next to the bed holding Cassie's hand saying prayer after prayer that her daughter would wake up.

Mr. Bolton leaned up against the wall next to the door with his arms crossed. Though his eyes were on Cassie, he was the first to notice that Troy and Gabriella had arrived. "Troy," he said exasperated and pulled him into a hug.

"Hey," was the only word Troy could let out of his mouth as he returned the hug.

Mrs. Bolton did the same. Both also said hello to Gabriella and thanked her for coming with Troy, they knew how close they were.

Troy stared at Cassie before he spoke again. "So what happened?" he asked clearing his throat.

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton looked at each other solemnly as Mrs. Bolton began to burst into tears. "It's all my fault," she cried.

Mr. Bolton embraced his wife. "Shhh…no, it's not, it was and accident." When she calmed down she sat back in her chair and reached for Cassie's hand again. Mrs. Bolton took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Cassie had been getting those headaches for weeks and I thought nothing of them. I just thought they were stress. Anyways, all week during practice ice she was getting dizzy from little things. She was completely winded after her programs, and she was weak. Nick and Jill reamed her, as did I, because we thought she was just slacking off.

"Well, this morning when she was getting ready for her qualifying round she threw up." Mrs. Bolton whipped a tear from her cheek. "And again, I just thought it was stress. We didn't talk after that, because she was focusing. She looked so beautiful when she was doing her warm-up, so focused, but you could tell that something was wrong, she was shaky.

"She was the second skater in her group. Nick and Jill said she was silent before they called her name. She went out and skated about half-way through her program, thought it was shaky, it was good." She whipped another tear from her cheek and continued. "Then came the triple-double combo that she had been having trouble with all week. She took off so odd, I knew she wasn't going to land, but I didn't think it would happen like that. Her body twisted itself and she lost control and hit the ice on her back head first."

Gabriella reached for Troy's hand and squeezed it.

Mrs. Bolton continued. "The audience gasped, her music was still playing. Nick ran on the ice over to her, Jill was behind him. When he got there he screamed for someone to call an ambulance. She wasn't breathing." The last few words were squeaky and high pitched as Mrs. Bolton lost her composure again.

Troy took a deep breath, trying not to cry. "So what do the doctors say?"

"The headaches, weakness, and vomiting were from when she hit her head on the ice a few weeks ago. She was fine and no one thought anything of it, but she developed a slight concussion. It hadn't been treated, so when she hit her head today, she went into a coma." Mr. Bolton took a deep breath. "Now, however, she knocked it so hard something in her brain is bleeding…"

Troy interrupted before Mr. Bolton could finish. "So what happens next, is she going to be alright?" he asked wanting answers fast.

"Troy calm down…" Mrs. Bolton said reasoning.

"Calm Down? My sister, my baby sister is hooked up to a breathing machine and something in her brain is bleeding, and you want me to calm down?" he snapped. "What's going to happen to Cassie?" he said on the verge of tears.

"She goes into surgery tonight, and if the doctors can't figure out what's wrong," Mr. Bolton hung his head in defeat. "After that we don't know…."

'No.' Troy thought to himself. 'That's not supposed to happen.'

* * *

**Wow, another 'cliffhanger-ish' ending. I wrote this chapter in like and hour. Awesome! **

**Reveiws are like going to a family reunion and everyone telling you how pretty you look. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The Bolton family and Gabriella sad around the still unconscious Cassie, there was still no update on her condition.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton," a doctor said as he walked trough the door. "I'm Dr. Weitzman, the trauma neurosurgeon, and I will be working on your daughter's case." The Boltons both nodded and gave a wary smile as they each took turns shaking his hand.

"Well, have they diagnosed her yet?" Mr. Bolton asked quickly.

"Yes. When Cassie hit hear head a few weeks ago, she developed an aneurism in her brain. This was causing the dizziness, headaches and lack of focus on her part. It was undetectable and show would have gone unharmed for quite some time, but it was ruptured when she hit her head on the ice yesterday. We suspected that her brain was bleeding, and it is in fact doing just that. More specifically she is bleeding epidurally. Her adrenaline was much too high while she was skating and with the added pressure of the hit, it caused her to go unconscious and into the coma."

"Oh my God, my baby." Mrs. Bolton cried as she reached back down for Cassie's hand. Mr. Bolton put a comforting arm around his wife's shoulder as he looked back up at Dr. Weitzman.

"So what can be done to fix all of this?"

"In a few hours we are going to take her into the O.R. to drain the blood that is building up in her brain, after that, she should regain consciousness soon. However, we are not sure about the aneurism yet and would like to wait until later to remove it. This may also put her at risk for seizures, breathing problems and form the hit with the ice, there is a large possibility for amnesia."

"Thank you doctor," Mr. Bolton replied mournfully. Before leaving the room Dr. Weitzman shared that the nurses would be in within the next couple of hours to prep Cassie for surgery.

"Mom, Dad, do you mind if Gabby and I go back to your hotel room and rest? I can't be here while she is like this. I would really just like it if you called me after her surgery." Troy said as he ran his hands through his hair. Gabriella rubbed his back knowing how stressed he was about his little sister.

"Sure," Mr. Bolton said. While clearing his throat he reached in his back pocket for the room key and the rental car key. "We'll call you when she's done. I'm sure that she'll pull through." He smiled and nodded slightly, trying to think that it would fix the vast problem at hand. Troy reached for Gabby's hand and walked with her to the car. He wanted nothing more than to be out of that God forsaken hospital.

When they arrived at the hotel, they quickly found the room. Troy put the keys on the desk by the door. He then walked towards one of the beds and fell backward with a deep sigh. Gabby laid down next to him, and looked at him. Troy didn't respond, he was still looking up at the ceiling.

"It's crazy," Troy said as he rubbed Gabriella's back. "To think that everything will be okay. I mean in the back of my mind, I can't help but think that she is never going to wake up."

"Troy that's not true." Gabby answered reassuringly. "You can't believe that, Cassie is tough and there is no way this is going to kill her."

"All she ever does is work hard; she doesn't deserve any of this."

"No one does, so all we can do is hope for the best."

"You're right," Troy knowingly answered. "You and I should get some sleep." Gabby nodded in agreement as the two resituated themselves on the bed. Troy kissed the top of Gabriella's head as he whispered, "I love you."

* * *

Gabriella woke a couple of ours later to the sound of applause. It took her a moment to realize where she was as she wiped the sleep away from her eyes. She looked over towards the other bed where Troy was sitting and watching the television placed before him.

"What are you watching?" She asked moving towards the other bed.

"My mom brings DVDs of Cassie's past competitions so she can watch what she needs to improve," he answered dazed.

By the looks of the video you would have never been able to guess that Cassie needed improvement. She was flawless, every jump and spin was perfectly executed and the choreography was amazing. Cassie had another talent, she preformed when she skated, unlike other who only did what they were told. Cassie was small and petite like other skaters and was strong as well. Every muscle in her body was toned and had an exact purpose to her performance.

"She's amazing." Gabby said entranced by the video. Troy nodded in agreement as his cell phone began to ring. Nervous that it was his father with news on his sister, he hesitated when looking at the caller i.d. Relieved to find it was he friend Chad, he answered.

"Hey man…..Yeah, we're still in Philly…..No, we came to the hotel, I had to get out of the hospital…..The doctors explained everything and she should be getting out of surgery pretty soon…..Yeah, she's with me…..I could be better…..Yeah, well listen, can I call you back later or tomorrow or something?...okay…..bye." Troy hung up the phone and looked at Gabriella with the same slalom look upon his face he had had during the phone conversation. His eyes began to fill with tears and he became very angry. Gabby rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

"Troy, she's going to be okay." She reassured him.

Troy pushed away and looked out the window. "Damn!" he yelled, "This isn't supposed to happen."

* * *

Reviews are like getting out of a shower after a week of camping, you feel extremely wonderful about yourself. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Gabriella rushed to Troy's side, as she had done multiple times within the last two days, and wrapped her arms around him." Troy, it's never supposed to happen, it just does," she said in a soothing voice.

Troy looked down at Gabriella, sensing the sincerity in her tone and wrapped his arms around her as well. She looked up into his eyes and gave him a small smile and led him to the bed to sit next to her.

"Your family is so amazing and perfect. Cassie doesn't deserve the hand that has been dealt to her at this point," Gabriella continued. "I love you so much that all I want to do is stay by you right now, but you need to start talking." Troy looked away. She found his eyes again and proceeded. "You need to let out some of this emotion that you have been storing for the past couple days. I mean since we've left Mexico last night you haven't said fifty words. That scares me." She interlaced her fingers with his and gave them a small squeeze. Her head tilted and her lips formed a small smirk when she felt him do the same.

"She's only 14," Troy began. "She had everything going for her, a shoe in for the 2010 Olympics. And now there is a chance that she will wake up and have amnesia? How can something like that just happen?" He placed his head in his hands and ran his fingers through his hair as if it would calm him down slightly. He stood again and walked to the window. Gabriella sat on the bed and watched him, not wanting him to stop talking.

"I'm her big brother and I am just supposed to sit here and let all of this happen?! It has always been my job to make sure that Cassie was protected and now she is in the hospital. It hurts so much to have to deal with these feelings. I just don't know what to do anymore," he sighed in defeat and looked towards Gabriella.

Stunned as to what her answer would be she took at deep breath. "Troy I wish I could tell you that everything was going to be alright and that I knew exactly how you felt, but I can't," she confessed. "I'm sorry."

He smiled at her innocence. "It's okay Gabby, I like that you just want to listen." He rejoined her sitting next to her on the bed. "In my family, success has always been a really big thing. My dad was always the one who pushed me. Then there was Cassie, who is just amazing on that ice. No one can deny her talent, and both my parents push her hard." Troy chuckled at the thought of a memory. "I used to complain to Cassie about how much I hated dad pushing me, and asked her how she could take it from mom and dad at the same time. She would always say the same thing…. 'I just love skating, so instead of thinking about all the yelling and the hard stuff, I just think about how much I love it. Don't you love basketball?' And that was it. I couldn't deny how pure and simple the theory was."

"Cassie is pretty amazing," Gabriella replied. "She is going to be okay Troy, no matter what the outcome of the surgery is. She is strong and she is a fighter."

"I know," Troy agreed. There was a short silence before Troy's cell phone rang. Gabriella was closet and reached for it to look at the caller i.d.

"It's your dad." She said handing him the phone.

Troy took a deep breath before he answered. "Hello?..." He said hesitantly. "I'm fine, how's Cassie?...Ok, well we're on our way…..I know….. Bye." He hung up the phone and exhaled. Gabriella looked at him for an answer. "Well, she is out of surgery, but she is still unconscious and they are still unsure as to when she is going to wake up."

"She could just not be awake because of the anesthesia, it was about a four hour surgery," Gabriella commented.

Troy shrugged. "I don't know. We should get going though; I want to be there if she is going to wake up soon." He grabbed Gabriella's hand and led her towards the door.

* * *

The two made their way up to the ICU, Cassie was still there after her intense surgery. Gabriella continued to hum a song that was stuck in her head; Troy recognized it from one of Cassie's skating programs. His heart fell a little when he heard it. They found Mr. and Mrs. Bolton sitting in the lobby outside the ICU.

"Why are you out here? Why aren't you inside Cassie's room?" Troy questioned.

Mr. Bolton looked up. "Calm down Troy. They are just running some tests on Cassie, and they said it would be unpleasant. Your mother hates seeing Cassie in this much pain." He looked down at his wife who still looked distraught.

"What do you mean unpleasant?" Troy asked.

"They drained most of the aneurysm in her brain that was causing the bleeding. But after the surgery they think that she has done something to her spine and are trying to see if anything could lead to paralysis." Repeating the news to Troy and Gabriella was almost harder than hearing it once from the doctors.

Troy sat down, not knowing what else to do. Gabriella sat in the chair next to him. Everyone sat in silence for what felt like hours before the doctors came.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bolton," Dr. Weitzman said walking over to the family. "Cassie has just woken up." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "We don't believe that she actually slipped in to a comma, but more of a state of unconsciousness. She is still groggy from the surgery and will complain about her head. There is a pea sized hole that we drilled and have left open to drain any extra build up. She will receive constant watch by our nursing staff and will need constant medicating. However, she is awake, and earlier today we didn't know if that was a possibility."

"But what about the tests that you just ran, the spinal tap? What about that?" Mrs. Bolton asked still not satisfied.

"We are taking the fluid to the lab as we speak. Cassie was complaining about some tingling in her legs when she was waking up, and that is a good sign. Her MRI from before the surgery was normal, but something may have happened between then and now. We will take her to get another in the next couple of hours."

"So will Cassie be able to walk or not?" Mr. Bolton asked almost cutting the doctor off. "She uses her legs, she needs her legs, she is a skater, a beautiful skater and she needs her legs." He said sternly and clearly frustrated.

"Mr. Bolton," Dr. Weitzman replied calmly. "We are doing everything within our power to insure that your daughter will be able to skate again." He knew it wasn't enough, but it was all he could say.

"Thank you Doctor." Troy said trying to end the conversation so they could see Cassie.

"I will keep you informed as new information arises," he said walking away.

Mrs. Bolton whipped a tear from her cheek and looked at her husband. "I want to see my baby." They all followed each other down the hall to room 329. As you approached the door you could hear the sounds of the multiple machines that were hooked up to Cassie. Mrs. Bolton tried to compose herself as she turned the corner into her room, the rest followed.

The room seemed darker than it did earlier that day, Troy thought. It was hard to watch Cassie lie there with a blood stained bandage on her head trying so hard to keep her eyes open. Her breathing machine was gone, it was replaced by a small tube of oxygen that ran under her nose.

"Mom," Cassie barley whispered. "My head hurts."

Mrs. Bolton sniffled. "I know sweetheart, I know." She said as she stroked her hand.

"Hey, Pooh Bear," Mr. Bolton said addressing Cassie. "I am sure that they have some pretty good movies down in the library. How 'bout I go and get one of your favorites?"

Cassie nodded. Mr. Bolton kissed her forehead and headed out of the room.

"Do you want anything else, Sweetie?" asked Mrs. Bolton. "How about some ice chips? Or water?" Cassie nodded. Mrs. Bolton went off to find the two after giving Cassie's hand a good squeeze.

That left Troy and Gabriella in the room with Cassie. He had his arm around Gabriella as they stood at the foot of her bed. Troy took a deep breath trying to compose himself and let go of Gabriella. He sat in the chair his mom was earlier occupying on Cassie's right side.

Cassie turned to look at him as he took her hand. "I am so sorry that I wasn't here for you." He said looking down, almost ashamed.

"It's okay," Cassie replied. "I still love you." She smiled with her eyes closed. Cassie took a deep breath and tried to say something else, but was stopped by a loud beeping. She never exhaled, but Troy felt her grip on his hand loosen. He looked up to see that she had flat lined, her heart had stopped.

"**CODE BLUE, CODE BLUE ROOM ICU 329!**" The intercom shouted.

Gabriella rushed to Troy and buried her face in his chest. A stream of doctor's and nurses hurried in and ushered a still in shock Troy and devastated Gabriella outside. Mrs. Bolton came back with ice chips and water in both hands to see more doctors filing in and out if the room as alarms still sounded.

"Cassie! My Baby! What is going on?!" she screamed dropping the cups.

'That's not supposed to happen.' Thought Troy thought, still shocked as put his arms around Gabriella.

* * *

I know what an AMAZING cliff hanger. And I know, I updated after a year. So in turn I want LOTS of raving reviews because…….**reviews are like your favorite story finally being updated……the joy is unexplainable.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It was Sunday, the morning after Cassie's heart failure, the Bolton family and Gabriella sat around her bed waiting for any news. It was again quiet except for the machines keeping Cassie alive. The night before when all her family had come to see her, she had gotten too excited and it was too much for a weak heart. In turn she flat lined and thankfully doctors were able to revive her. The doctors now had put her into a drug induced coma. Her breathing tube was back as well as other familiar machines from the previous day before her surgery.

Everyone had a different emotion on their face. Mrs. Bolton was still beside herself that she had even thought to leave Cassie's side. She vowed never to repeat it throughout the rest of her stay in the hospital no matter how long that was going to be. Dr. Weitzman kept trying to reassure her that what happened to Cassie was rare and that he was doing everything he could to make sure that it didn't happen again. She couldn't find comfort with the answer and continued to sit next to Cassie's bed holding her hand praying that she would get better. She tried to answer the many calls that were flooding her phone, but when it came to talk about Cassie's condition she would burst into tears and just handed the phone to her husband.

Mr. Bolton had never seen his wife like this. He too was thinking about how he had left Cassie for only a brief moment. He had found 'Peter Pan,' her favorite movie, down in the library; he knew how excited she would be to see they had it. But returning to see doctors scrambling in and out of her room and his wife in hysterics in the lobby was nothing he expected. He too vowed not to leave Cassie's side or his wife's any time soon.

Gabriella didn't leave Troy's side either, devastated about Cassie. She and the Bolton's were close as if they had already made her apart of the family. She had her special moments with Cassie as well over the past couple years. They would go shopping on weekends when Cassie wasn't out of town for a competition. Gabriella acted as more of an older sister to Cassie. They laughed together and had their own inside jokes. Sitting at the foot of her bed watching Cassie just lie there constantly brought tears to Gabriella's eyes.

Troy just continued to sit next to Gabriella still in a state of shock. Cassie's last words before she flat lined kept running through his mind, "its okay, I still love you." There was so much pain in her voice from all the pain that she was in. It hurt so much to watch her and not be able to do anything about her condition. He hadn't slept since he and Gabriella went to the hotel yesterday during Cassie's surgery. Gabby would doze off here and there against his shoulder during the night, but Troy was never able to sleep. His eyes stung from the lack of sleep, but it just didn't matter to him. All he really wanted was for Cassie to be okay, it was the only thing on his mind.

Gabriella slowly stood up and wiped under her eyes to remove any tears. "I'm going to go down to the Cafeteria to get some coffee, would anyone like any?" She asked softly.

"I would love some, Gabby, thank you," replied Mr. Bolton. "Lucy?" He said as he looked at Mrs. Bolton.

She jumped as if in a daze. "Hmm? Oh, no thank you." She replied. Obviously she was kept awake by other things and didn't need caffeine.

Mr. Bolton tried to offer Gabriella some money to cover the tab. She shook her head. "Don't worry about it," she answered forcing a smile. "It's on me." Gabriella looked towards Troy. "Do you want anything?"

"Yeah," he answered slowly getting up from his chair. "But I'll go with you." His eyes never left Cassie until they started to leave the room.

* * *

The two walked towards the cafeteria in silence. There was nothing to say. Just being there for each other was enough. Troy reached over for Gabriella's hand and gave it a small squeeze. Tears began to drop down her face. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at Troy. Troy turned around to see her in a state of distress. He pulled her into his arms and pressed her against his chest. The shakes from Gabriella's cries shook them both. He stroked her soft black hair as he laid his cheek on the top of her head.

"I can't look at her anymore. I can't Troy." She muttered. "It hurts too much. She is too innocent and I can't stand to see her like that." She continued to cry into his chest.

Troy continued to rock her in the middle of the hallway. He didn't know what to say. He could only agree with her. Watching Cassie lie in that comatose state was heartbreaking.

"Hey," Troy said lifting Gabriella's chin to look into his eyes. "Why don't we go and get my dad some coffee and then we'll take their rental car and go out to brunch or something? Does that sound okay?"

"Are you sure?" she replied immediately feeling guilty that she was pulling Troy away from his family. "I don't want to take you away from your family or Cassie."

"Gabby, don't worry about that. I think my parents want to be alone with her. It's not like we are leaving Philly, we are just going to brunch." He replied. Gabriella nodded and they continued to the cafeteria. Troy did feel a little guilty leaving his parents alone, and not being there for Cassie again, but Gabriella had been so supportive and strong since they left Mexico that he knew it was his turn to be there for her. He remembered how Cassie used to come home from her 'dates' with Gabby and just go on and on about her. She really looked up to Gabriella and loved spending time with her. It wasn't a surprise that Gabriella was taking Cassie's incident so hard.

* * *

It was almost noon by the time they had gotten out of the hospital and found a bistro that was serving brunch. It was a quaint and modern restaurant that had outside seating in the front. It was a nice day in downtown Philadelphia, but quiet being that it was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Gabriella ordered the eggs benedict, while Troy decided to go with the French toast. Neither of them was really hungry, but they both knew that they had to eat. They didn't talk much either, they just tried to soak up each others company and listen to the sounds of the city.

Troy decided that since they were supposed to back in New Mexico today, that he had better call into work and let them know that he wouldn't be returning anytime soon. He didn't want to leave until he knew Cassie was going to be okay.

"Hey Gabby," Troy said as they walked to the car. "I know that I am not going back home yet, but what do you want to do?"

"I don't know," She answered. "I hadn't really thought about that."

"Well, if it helps at all, I would really like it if you stayed with me. I know my parents wouldn't mind."

"Are you sure? Because I can just catch a flight back home tonight if it's too much trouble."

Troy shook his head. "No, I really want you here with me."

"Oh, so I guess I have no choice." She laughed.

"No say whatsoever." Troy smiled at her. "You have been so good to me, especially in the last few days. I know it is going to be hard staying here, but I don't think I could go through it without you."

"Yeah, I'll stay." Gabriella replied with a smile. "I don't want to step on your family's toes though."

"I think that you are pretty much already part of the family." Troy laughed.

Gabriella smiled and wrapped her arms around Troy. "I love you Troy Bolton."

"I love you Gabriella Montez." He smiled back at her and left a small kiss on her lips. They squeezed each other tight before Troy opened Gabriella's car door and headed back to the hospital. On their way back Gabriella made her personal phone calls to inform that she wouldn't be returning home for and extended amount of time.

* * *

As they walked back to Cassie's room, looking more refreshed than before, they saw Dr. Weitzman leaving. Troy, with his hand in Gabriella's, quickened his pace towards the room.

"Dad, we just saw the doctor leave. Is everything okay?"

Mrs. Bolton was still in the same place that she was before they had gone to brunch. Mr. Bolton had his hand on her shoulder and turned around at the sound of Troy's voice. He ushered the two outside, not wanting his wife to hear the news over again.

"Oh, yeah, she's doing fine." He replied folding his arms. "They say her heart is doing better, but they want to wait another day before they take her into surgery to finish the aneurysm procedure."

"What about the spinal problems?" Gabriella asked.

"Well, they haven't found anything out of the ordinary in all of her tests. They want to fix one problem at a time. Once she is awake and functioning they will be able to run more tests and see if that really is a problem at all."

"And when will she be awake?" Troy asked.

"Well, here is where it gets tough. She is going to be in the coma until her surgery. They wake her up and then put her under right before it, and then after the surgery she just has to let the anesthesia ware off." Mr. Bolton took a deep breath. "After that we will only be able to visit her one, maybe two at a time, for awhile. The doctors don't want her heart acting up like the last time we were all here."

"Well, obviously that is going to be mom all the time right?" Troy replied. He felt a little unsure as to if he was going to be able to see his sister.

"We may be able to have two people in the room," Mr. Bolton sensed that Troy did not agree with the new rule. "But we are going to have to take minute by minute evaluations as to how she is doing. You were there yesterday, she was fine and then gone in less than five minutes." He gave a sigh of defeat. "What about you two, what is going on with you?"

"I'm staying in Philly until Cassie is well." Troy replied. "I called work to let them know that I was going to be gone. I also asked Gabby if she would stay with me."

"That is more than okay." Mr. Bolton said looking at Gabriella. "You are always welcome, no matter what the circumstances may be."

"Thank you." Gabriella smiled. "Please let me know if there is anything that I can call my mom to do for you at home. She said she would be happy to help in any way."

"Thanks Gabriella." Mr. Bolton replied. "Right now, nothing comes to mind, but I'll let you know. It's nice to know someone is thinking about us. Well, it is just after two," he said looking at his watch. "And I am sure that your mother and I will be staying at the hospital over night. However, would you guys mind running back to the hotel and getting us a few things? I was going to call the hotel and get a room for you, but we aren't using ours so you guys may as well take it. Don't even think that you are staying here. You two need your rest."

"Sure, just basic over night things?" Troy asked. "We'll go run and do that, and then would you like anything for dinner? Something other than hospital food?"

Mr. Bolton smiled and looked over at his son. He was such an adult. He had forgotten that he had just graduated less than two weeks ago. He filled them in on anything he and his wife needed and sent them on his way.

As Troy and Gabriella left, Troy turned around thinking he had heard his name, but was sad he had turned around. Mr. Bolton was facing the wall next to Cassie's door and was leaning on one hand for support. He was using the other hand to wipe the tears that had formed in his eyes after talking to Troy. 'That's not supposed to happen," he thought as went to go catch up with Gabriella.

* * *

So I updated pretty quickly….right? So I think that I deserve some reviews….right?

Long story short I would really like for everyone to do their best to review, it really keeps me motivated. I know that this story is getting a TON of hits, but I'm not feeling the love.

Reviews are like finding a twenty dollar bill you forgot about……can you not see why I love them sooooo much.


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